


Some days are meant to be remembered

by JuliaBaggins



Series: Our favourite Exy players at the Olympics [1]
Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: And he's really moved and kinda happy, I honestly don't know how to tag for this?, M/M, Olympics, Olympics Opening Ceremony - Freeform, So they're at the Olympics and Neil thinks about stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-08-07 11:10:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7712632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuliaBaggins/pseuds/JuliaBaggins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neil attends the Olympics Opening Ceremony together with Andrew, Kevin, Jeremy and Jean.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Some days are meant to be remembered

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah, what can I say? I wrote this around 4AM last night as my brain is unable to shut down its Olympic-mode atm.

"The United States of America!", the announcer shouted and as soon as he did so, the athletes began their way into the stadium’s inner circle; a mass of blue jackets, flashlights and huge smiles.

Neil Josten was walking between his Exy-teammates into the wide arena; thousands of people cheering for the US-team, cameras flashing, the big flag carried by a swimmer nearly twice Neil's size waving in front of them. He was used to playing in front of huge crowds, but this was something different – mostly because of the sheer number of people that filled the court; most of the other nations haven gotten here before the US. And as exciting as all of this was, Neil surely was thankful for the familiar faces that surrounded him.

Kevin Day was walking on Neil's right side, Thea next to him, both looking like they belonged here. Kevin had a smile on his face, the one he had so perfectly learned to smile every time he got close to a camera, but judged by the way his eyes were shining Neil could see that Kevin was actually happy and not just pretending to be. He held his phone in his hand, spinning around to be able to capture every part of this moment, and when Kevin turned to him, Neil found himself smiling into the camera.

A moment later, Thea said something to Kevin, both of them laughed and he put his phone away; waving cheerfully into a camera nearby instead.

When Neil looked in front of him, he saw Jeremy Knox and Jean Moreau; the former having slung an arm around the latter's tense shoulders, both of them looking at the scenery around them in awe.

And on Neil's left side, there was Andrew Minyard. The blond goalkeeper observed all of the trouble that was an Olympic opening ceremony with his usual bored glare and it was not until about an hour later that this changed.

 

They were standing shoulder to shoulder, thousands of athletes somehow fit onto the court, hearing the Olympic oaths. And then, finally, it was time for the flame.

The whole stadium got dark except for that one spark of orange-red light, and though there were many negative things that Neil Josten associated with fire, he felt his heart warm at this sight. While he stood there, watched the flame make its way through the stadium, Neil remembered another Olympic opening, one he had watched on a small motel TV when his name had been Alex and he didn't even allow himself to dream of participating in the Olympics one day, except for those few moments before one drifts into sleep, when you're not able to control your thoughts anymore or prevent them from becoming dreams. Back then, he would have guessed he’d be dead by now. And in case that he would be still alive, he would have been sure that he’d be anywhere but right in this stadium.

And yet, here he was. Neil Josten, striker for the US national team in Exy, watching how the Olympic fire was lit. He swallowed and suddenly, he felt a light touch at his hand; a single finger offering for more. Neil looked to his side, saw Andrew's unspoken question in the slight tilt of his eyebrows and nodded. Andrew took Neil's hand, giving it a squeeze, and Neil Josten was happy. Here he stood, just days away from their first Olympic match, holding the hand of the man he loved (and who looked really good in his dark blue team jacket, by the way). It was as unbelievable as it was perfect.

Andrew held his gaze and Neil knew that there was no need to express his feelings in this moment to him; that Andrew understood. Like he always did. Neil gave Andrew his brightest smile and was called a junkie as an answer, though there was something that was nearly soft in Andrew’s voice, and it made Neil smile even brighter. And though he couldn't prove it, Neil would have sworn that there was something like a small smile playing around Andrew's lips as well.

When Neil finally looked away from Andrew, he saw how Kevin and Jean exchanged a look, and without thinking about it he knew what it meant. This was them saying _“We made it, we're here, we survived”_ , and when their gazes parted, Neil cached the hint of a smile on Jean's features. And he didn't seem to have been the only one to see it, as right in that moment, Jeremy placed a soft kiss in Jean's hair and smiled at him with a look in his eyes that was practically screaming how proud he was of his boyfriend.

Neil looked at his other team mates too, taking in every single face, before his gaze found Andrew again. Andrew, whose eyes were fixed on the fire, whose hand was still holding Neil's, whose gaze was containing more emotions than he allowed himself most of the time.

 

Neil thought about everything it had taken them, all of them, to get here, everything they had survived, and when he looked at Andrew, Kevin, the others, he couldn't have been more proud of them. His team, his friends, his family.

And this was just the start, the opening - as amazed as Neil was to be here at all, his ultimate dream still contained winning an Olympic medal. And in that moment, he felt as everything was possible.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Nice comments are super welcome! :)
> 
> Title is taken from Gloria Estefan's "Reach" ;)


End file.
